Denver Housing Authority to Reconvert Building for Senior Housing

An existing office building in Denver is set to be repurposed as an affordable housing for seniors.

The 10-story structure is a part of the Denver Health & Hospital Authority’s campus located at 655 N. Broadway.

The project is receiving important backing from Enterprise Housing Credit Investments program, which is putting up $18 million to help reconvert the structure.

That funding, in turn, is being made available through the federal government’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.

As planned, the project will result in a combination of both one-bedroom and studio apartments. Exactly 96 of those units will be geared for low-income seniors aged 62 or older.

Another 14 will be slated for patients recently discharged from the DHHA hospital who are in need of additional care.

The repurposed building will also feature a business center, therapy facilities, and activity and community rooms.

The reconversion will be designed by the Denver-based Davis Partnership Architects.

The structure was purchased by last spring by the Denver Housing Authority from the DHHA. According to the Denver Business Journal, DHHA has “retained the title to the land,” entering into a 99-year ground lease with the housing authority.

The structure is in a busy part of the city, across from a Towne Place Suites by Marriott hotel and one block from the Denver Health Adult Urgent Care Center.
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Originally built in 1954, the building, which has a total square footage of around 75,000, last underwent a renovation in 2000.

​By Garry Boulard

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